Guerin, 30, who also handles the menu at the downstairs Rathskeller Lounge, has been the chef here since November. His road to the inn through northern New Hampshire included five years as a sous chef at Jackson's Wentworth Inn, banquet chef at Whitefield's Mountain View Grand, and a stint with Stickney's at the Mount Washington Hotel. This is his first executive-chef gig, and he knows he'll feel the heat.
''This all has to do with how you organize and prepare yourself for the battles ahead," he said.
To begin our meal, a sneaker-shod server was quick with a warming wheat-bread basket accompanied by butter with roasted garlic cloves, which we ate over the watchful eye of the Old Man of the Mountain emblazoned on the decorative insignia plates on the table.
We ordered cup-of-soup starters, and the special was sweet potato and pumpkin for $2.95. Garnished with flakes of parsley, it was a smooth blend, not too tart, not too sweet. The signature lobster bisque at $6.95, sprinkled with paprika and a thyme sprig, was sweet with plenty of meat.
The menu features such items as grilled vegetable ravioli with shiitake mushrooms, roma tomatoes, and a sun-dried tomato cream, as well as a half rack of New Zealand lamb with pumpkin ravioli and bordelaise sauce.
We chose entrees that were $19.95 each: pork piccata with sweet potato risotto and black currant demiglaze, and roasted Long Island duckling with garlic Yukon mashed potatoes and pan sauce. The duck was tender and moist, and the piccata was succulent as well.
A blackberry cabernet sorbet and profiteroles with coconut cream and chocolate, each $5.25, topped off the meal.
Afterward, we had only to travel up the stairs to a room furnished a tad like yesteryear, with no phone or television.
The Franconia Inn, Easton Road, Franconia, N.H. 800-473-5299. www.franconiainn.com. Dinner 5-9 p.m. Entrees $16-$26.
